The Brits have been obsessed with overpopulation since at least Thomas Malthus. Now comes a new report(PDF) commissioned by the Optimum Population Trust and conducted by the London School of Economics, that says expanded access to family planning and contraceptives is five times cheaper than low-carbon technology in reducing greenhouse gases.

According to the study, $7 spent on family planning would reduce carbon emissions by one ton, by reducing the number of people emitting carbon. By contrast, low carbon technologies cost an estimated $32 per ton reduced. The authors are quick to note that the study considers only non-coercive forms of birth control. We’re not talking about mass sterilizations. Yet.

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A study out of Oregon State University last month covered similar ground with the simplistic argument that having fewer children = fewer emissions. But the Optimum Trust study, by translating dollars spent on different technologies — condoms versus carbon capture, so to speak — into emissions reduced, speaks the language of climateers — and thus could actually have an effect on climate change policy.

Less Bang for Your $7 Bucks

If all the women who want contraception but don’t have access to it did, there would be a half a billion fewer human beings in 2050 than the projected 9.1 billion, according to recent estimates. Using those figures, the London School researchers estimated 12 billion fewerpeople years lived, saving 34 gigatons of CO2 emitted.

With a cost of $220 billion to provide the contraception, they arrived at the $7 estimate.

The $7 cost of abating a tonne of CO2 using family planning compares with $24 (£15) for wind power, $51 (£31) for solar, $57-83 (£35-51) for coal plants with carbon capture and storage, $92 (£56) for plug-in hybrid vehicles and $131 (£80) for electric vehicles.

Actually savings might be higher, according to the authors, because they only used figures for married women, but up to 40% of young unmarried women have had unwanted pregnancies, according to other studies.

"We’ll Be at Copenhagen"

Roger Martin, chair of Optimum Population Trust, said the study "vindicated OPT’s stance that population growth must be considered in the climate debate."

"The potential for tackling climate change by addressing population growth through better family planning, alongside the conventional approach, is clearly enormous and we shall be urging all those involved in the Copenhagen process to take it fully on board."

This article was reproduced with the kind permission of our affiliate, Triple Pundit.